Guest post by Hans Sherrer. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, 3rd Quarter, 2002. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence made it plain that in America, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive…, it is the Right of the…
Tag: change
The Fundamentals of Nonvoting
Our rulers know they are illegitimate. Voluntaryists know they are illegitimate for a myriad of other reasons, but what I wanted to examine here is the voluntaryist’s position to abstain from electoral politics. The following arguments are the fundamentals of the nonvoting position.
Why I Would Not Vote Against Hitler
Guest post by Wendy McElroy. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, April 1997. At the last Liberty Conference, an intellectual brawl erupted during a panel discussion on terrorism. Since I consider electoral politics the milquetoast equivalent of terrorism, my opening statement was a condemnation of voting. My arguments were aimed at libertarians who consider themselves anarchists…
Re: Electoral Obligations
Writes Spencer Morgan: Saying that you have an obligation to vote and that doing so is the way to advance liberty is like saying that you should join your local street gang, go through their initiations, rise through the ranks and become their leader just so you can reduce its level of violence. Most people…
Why I Detest the State
Guest post by Clem Johnson. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, February, 1987. About a year before he died, Albert Einstein wrote this warning: “The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophies.” In paraphrase, such a statement could describe even dire consequences: “From tribalism…
Open Systems vs. Closed Systems
Guest post by Joseph Dejan. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, February 1987. To the academic question of more or less government, we may find more useful to compare the political structure with the voluntary system. To sustain life and maximize his well-being, organized human efforts are mandatory. Individually, man may survive, but complete independence requires…
Facilitating Our Children’s Desires
Guest post by Nicole Olsen. For two years now my daughter Katy has wanted a cat. No, wanted isn’t really the right word. Passionately desired with every fiber of her being is more like it. At first, I kind of figured it was a passing phase. After all, she was barely five years old. Her tastes changed…
The Search for Peace
Guest post by Lorne Strider. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, January 1987. If we look about us in the world today, it soon becomes apparent that only governments are capable of the large scale regimentation and taxation necessary to conscript, train, arm, feed and clothe armies. Only governments with powers of coercive taxation can amass…
Paper Money = Despotism
Guest post by Wendy McElroy. “Fiat” is money with no intrinsic value beyond whatever an issuing government is able to enforce. When it enjoys a monopoly as currency, fiat inevitably turns the free market functions of money inside out. Instead of being a store of value, the currency becomes a point of plunder through monetary…
99 Years, Bomb Plots, and the Middle East
Send him mail. “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” is an original weekly column appearing every Monday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by the founder and editor Skyler J. Collins. Archived columns can be found here. OVP-only RSS feed available here. As mentioned, I’ve taken over the Voluntaryism subreddit and hope to make it active again. It’s been a ghost town,…